Like Lifelines
by Curious Rebel
Summary: Cal tells Ethan the truth. One-shot. Set after 'A Life Less Ordianry' (2/1/16).


**Thought I should write something for this weekend's episode, despite the fact that I've barely slept and I have to be up in an hour. Hope you enjoy!**

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Like Lifelines

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{ Cal }

"Is she alright?" I question off-handedly, gently rubbing the smarting cut on my head. I notice Ethan placing his fingers to her neck out of the corner of my eye. And I can hear the distressed confusion and wrinkle of his brow as he speaks,

"She's dead!"

I glance up at him before my eyes dart automatically to Hester's peaceful face. Oh, god. My legs spring to their full height, propelling me to a standing position. A brief spell of dizziness washes over me and I have to lean on the bed to stop myself from falling. Letting out a heavy sigh, I listen to Ethan getting himself worried and worked up,

"B-But, her breathing wasn't good but it wasn't critical," He stops to look at me and I can see the grief beginning to swell in his big brown eyes.

"But she wasn't in any distress!" He slides round the bed, a look of forming guilt plastered on his face," What have we missed?" He picks out her file and skims through it. At this point, I know I have to stop him.

"I think she just decided to go. She said it was over."

"Oh, Cal." Ethan's voice wavers as he attempts not to cry.

His hand lands with a desperate tremour on my shoulder and he shakes me slightly.

"If anything had happened to you," The tragedy in his voice is so strong despite his voice being so quiet that I have to look at him to make sure he's alright. But I can't look in his eyes for long.

"No. Look at me. You are not on your own." His bottom lip wobbles as speaks, just like it did when we were younger and he got upset about me going on a school trip to London," Come here."

He takes a fist full of my scrub top and pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around my neck. I can feel the hot salt-water of his tears dampening my shirt as he cries into my shoulder.

The sudden warmth of my brother and the whole day solidly crashing down upon me brings my own sobs and tears as I bury myself in the feeling of hugging the most treasurable person in my whole life, a feeling I had feared would forever be a distant memory.

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And it's that feeling that is pushing me now into the living room of our shared flat, where I know I will find my brother.

I stand in the doorway, watching him mull everything over. The cogs and wheels in his head are carefully placing him at each event in his day, running him through the exact things he did and said. And, although he doesn't show it, I know he's scared he did something wrong.

"Hey." I say, my voice hoarse from crying. He looks up at me and I can see, not for the first time tonight, that he's crushed. Crushed by the fact that I'm hiding something from him. Crushed by the fact that two women died today. Crushed by the fact that I was involved in car accident. It hurts to know that I'm about to crush him even more. Usually, I would use this as an excuse, but not today. I can't hide this from him. Not any more.

"Hey." He says back, equally quiet.

He shuffles over on the settee as I walk over. I sit. I sigh. I look at him. He looks at me.

"Caleb?" His gaze shifts from me.

"Yeah?" I can't stop myself from looking at him in this quiet moment, knowing that any moment now, he may hate me forever.

"Are you okay? I know that I keep asking, but something's not right. Between us, I mean."

I sigh again. " I need to tell you something, Ethan."

He looks at me again," Yes?"

I sit forward, my elbows resting on my knees. I take one last grievous look at the brother that I adore, whose life I'm about to turn upside down.

"I need you to listen."

"Okay."

"I need you to listen all the way through a-and not talk until- until I'm f-finished, okay?"

His lips thin into a grim line and he nods seriously.

"Okay," a shaky breath escapes me as tears build up in my now burning eyes," W-When I took the paternity test, I found out that Matilda wasn't my daughter. But- But I noticed that my bloods didn't match Mum's."

Ethan looks confused but stays true to his word. There's silene for a second.

"I found that I'm adopted."

Ethan's shaky breathing makes me stop,

"Ethan?"

"But- But- So we're- We're not- not-"

"Ethan." I put a hand on his back," Wait. I found out that I'm adopted and I found my birth mother - well, Charlie did –"

"Wait. Charlie knew?"

"I'm sorry, Ethan." I say pleadingly. His shock seems to make him unable to argue and he just makes a vague gesture for me to carry on.

"I went to see my birth mother and, most importantly, I found out that we _are_ brothers. By blood."

"Oh, Caleb." His tone is strange, and I'm not sure how he feels.

"What? Isn't that what you want?" I feel my heart clench again, I was so desperate for him to be my brother, but I hadn't thought about what Ethan felt.

"Don't be ridiculous, Caleb!"

"What?"

"Of course that's what I want!"

I let out a relieved laugh and smile at him.

"So," Ethan sounds unsure and tired," What was she like? Our- um, Birth Mum?"

"Well-"

"What?"

"She's, oh god, Ethan, she's got Huntington's!"

I break into painful sobs, and I can only just hear Ethan's fragile voice above myself,

"Huntington's? What do you mean?"

"I-I'm sure I don't- don't need to tell you what-what it is, Ethan."

"Oh, Cal, why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't! I couldn't lose you."

He stands up and I'm scared, scared that this is it, _this_ is when I'm going to lose him.

"Stand up, Caleb." His voice is stern and without room for argument. I stand, shaking, facing my baby brother. At first, I think he's going to hit me, he looks so angry. Then his face changes and tears fall down his cheeks.

"Ethan?" The word is barely out of my mouth before Ethan throws himself at me, sobbing unabashedly.

"I'm so sorry, Ethan." I whisper, wrapping my arms around him, tucking him safely into me.

We both quieten down after a minute, but Ethan doesn't pull away, he just holds on to me.

"I want you to know, Cal, that no matter what happens, I'm here, we're in this together."

"I'm here for you, too. I'm not leaving you, not ever. I promise."

With promises, dagger-like truths and love for one another still whirling in the air, Ethan and I stand in the middle of our living room. Holding onto each other, like lifelines.

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 **Hope you enjoyed! Just wanted to ask if there is anyone who would like to be a staff member on my Cal and Ethan Community, if you do, just PM me!**


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